September 24
Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intention
7:45 AM – Luke Morriscot / Collins Family
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
Haggai 2:1-9
In the second year of King Darius, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: Tell this to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people:
Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes? But now take courage, Zerubbabel, says the LORD, and take courage, Joshua, high priest, son of Jehozadak, And take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD, and work! For I am with you, says the LORD of hosts. This is the pact that I made with you when you came out of Egypt, And my spirit continues in your midst; do not fear! For thus says the LORD of hosts: One moment yet, a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will come in, And I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. Mine is the silver and mine the gold, says the LORD of hosts. Greater will be the future glory of this house than the former, says the LORD of hosts; And in this place I will give you peace, says the LORD of hosts!
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 43:1, 2, 3, 4
R. (5) Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Do me justice, O God, and fight my fight
against a faithless people;
from the deceitful and impious man rescue me.
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
For you, O God, are my strength.
Why do you keep me so far away?
Why must I go about in mourning,
with the enemy oppressing me?
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwellingplace.
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Gospel Acclamation
Mark 10:45
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 9:18-22
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
“Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.”
Reflection
Our readings today focus on the temple of the Lord but in very different ways. Haggai was focused on the temple made by human hands, which needed to be rebuilt after the Babylonians destroyed it almost a century before. Haggai tells the Israelites that they need courage to confront the task ahead of them. He tells them that the Lord will help them in their time of need.
If you want to think about courage, though, there is no greater example of the courage it takes to endure incredible suffering than that of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the gospel, Jesus is praying with his disciples and he tells them that he must suffer greatly at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes of the Jewish nation in order to fulfill his legacy as the Messiah. This role calls for him to be whipped, beaten, and nailed to the Cross and to ultimately give his life as a ransom for our sins. While he knew that he would rise in the end, it still took a lot of guts to confront what he knew for certain was going to happen to him.
We all recognize that there is suffering in our own futures. All of us will endure sickness, loss, and sorrow in one way or another. As we look around in our world, we see people whose suffering is incredible. There is poverty, disease, destruction, and fear almost everywhere we look. But we know that God is here in our world, and we can take courage just as Jesus did. If we turn to him, we can endure anything.
In Christ,
Deacon Dare
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